Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Baltimore Personal Injury News: Aberdeen, Maryland, Driver Killed in Crash with Tractor-trailer Rig

April 23, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s a fair bet that anyone who drives here in Maryland travels at one time or another on an undivided highway or high-speed surface street. As human beings most of us don’t dwell too much on the potential carnage that could result from a head-on car collision at almost any speed, much less highway speeds. Sometimes it takes a certain lack of imagination to venture out onto roads with no barriers separating opposing traffic lanes.

Of course, it goes without saying that accidents can and do happen on a rather regular basis in rural areas as well as urban locales such as Gaithersburg, Bowie, the District and Rockville. As a Maryland personal injury law firm, I and my legal team represent victims of automobile, motorcycle and commercial trucking accidents. In cases where a family has lost a loved one to a traffic accident caused by the negligent act of another motorist, we can help pursue a wrongful death claim against the responsible parties.

Nothing is permanent in this life, but the loss of a life through a senseless or preventable act is one of the more tragic ways to lose a parent, child, friend or colleague. While accidents happen all of the time around this country, car and motorcycle wrecks can result in serious injuries, permanent disability or even death. Whether a family has had a loved one die on a Maryland highway, or be injured with weeks or months of medical treatment and rehabilitation ahead of them, it is always a wise choice to contact a qualified injury attorney before talking with the other driver’s insurance company.

Commercial Vehicle Accident Leaves University of Baltimore Student Seriously Injured following City Bus Crash

April 15, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a personal injury attorney here in Maryland, I know how much the odds are stacked against pedestrians and bicyclists in cases of traffic-related accidents. Pitting oneself, as a virtually unprotected human being, against a two ton passenger car — not to mention being hit by a large commercial vehicle, such as a large box truck, semi tractor-trailer or even a metropolitan transit bus — is a situation few would want to experience.

Pedestrian roadway accidents involving cars and trucks can result in some pretty serious bodily injuries on the part of the hapless person on foot or riding a bike. Simply being knocked over by a motor vehicle that passes too close can cause an individual to fall to the tarmac, potentially causing broken bones or even a concussion; closed-head injuries are not uncommon in such collisions between people and vehicular traffic.

As Baltimore car, truck and motorcycle accident lawyers, I and my legal staff have met numerous individuals hurt or severely injure in a random car or trucking-related wreck. In pedestrian-related collisions, the people traveling on foot are rarely the winners; many people do, in fact, suffer extensive injuries that may require days or weeks in a hospital bed. Expensive medical treatment is sometimes followed by a fair amount of physical therapy in order to get the victim back to some semblance of normalcy once back at home.

Baltimore Trucking Accident News: Maryland Trucker Charged with Drunk Driving after Wedging Semi Under Overpass

April 8, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For those out there who believe that every commercial trucker is the paramount of professionalism, we are here to say, albeit sadly, that this is not always the case. Just as with the motoring public in general, there are good apples and bad. Fortunately for most of us, the bad apples are few and far between, but this does not mean that there is not cause for concern vis-à-vis traffic accidents caused by negligence; this portion of the driving public is still over represented, at least from our standpoint as Maryland personal injury lawyers.

The point we are trying to make here is that while not every car, truck or motorcycle operator is a perfect driver, there are some very bad actors in our midst every day or every month. We, as motorists, may not realize we are sharing the road with potentially negligent individuals, which is a blessing in some regards. The downside, of course, is that one never knows when tragic traffic accident may strike as a result of one of these bad apples.

If you think that commercial truck drivers are less than likely to be poor or negligent drivers, you could be right. While most truckers obey traffic laws and Federal regulations and guidelines for operating these 80,000-pound rigs, there is a percent of truckers who flout the law either surreptitiously or even openly in some instances. Of course, they face stiff penalties, not the least of which is forfeiture of their commercial driver’s license (CDL), which can bring their truck driving career to a halt very quickly.

Maryland Auto Accident News: Truck Driver Killed in Auto Hauler Accident in Baltimore County

March 31, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As motorists we are all tested and licensed by the state of Maryland before we can legally operate a motor vehicle on public roads. This is reasonable and as a matter of tradition and the law, completely acceptable considering the dangers that an unqualified driver could pose on the streets of Rockville, Howie, Columbia and Washington, D.C. By extension, it is no surprise that drivers of commercial motor vehicles have an ever stricter set of hurdles to clear before being granted their commercial driver’s license (CDL).

Anyone who disagrees with the added regulatory requirements imposed on operators of 18-wheelers, semi tractor-trailers, commercial box trucks, and even city bus drivers, should consider the heady responsibility of driving a 30-plus-ton, multi-wheeled behemoth on a public road. At nearly 20 times the mass of an average passenger car, a long-haul semi rig can easily become an almost unstoppable and indiscriminate killing machine if driven recklessly on an expressway or city street.

As Maryland trucking accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues are keenly aware of the potential for bodily harm or death from one of these vehicles when its driver is caught unaware or even actively negligent in his or her operation of that 18-wheeler. And this goes for being in or working around even a stationary truck.

Baltimore Traffic Accident News: Bicycle Rider Run Over, Injured by Lumber Store Truck in D.C.

March 26, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s the old saw: Safety first. But is this really too trite a phrase to use when approaching the dangers of a busy intersection? Whether one is driving a car, riding a motorcycle or pedaling a bike, each activity has its own specific risks. For the passenger car driver, there is the possibility of a crash if another driver is in too much of a hurry and turns in front of the other car.

A motorcycle rider can be injured simply by not being seen in time by another driver, while a cyclist or pedestrian can be blind-sided by a city bus or delivery truck, causing serious or fatal injury. Regardless of the type of accident, the resulting bodily injuries and possible trauma can send an individual into shock, something which quick medical attention from an EMS team can provide if there is time.

From broken bones to ruptured internal organs, a serious traffic collision can make for a long and costly hospital stay for the survivors. If the accident was caused by the negligent or careless actions of another party, there may be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. As Maryland injury attorneys, we know how a family can be spun into turmoil after a bad car or trucking-related collision.

Maryland Personal Injury News: Trucker Who Killed Maryland University Professor Gets 5 Years in Jail

March 16, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Whenever, wherever a person passes away it can certainly be a sad event for the friends and relatives of that individual. A death in the family can thrust lives into turmoil and shake some people’s faith to the core; and this can happen under the most normal of circumstances, much less in the aftermath of a seemingly senseless and random traffic accident. When a person dies as a result of a car or motorcycle accident, the many ask the question, Is no one safe from the indiscriminate hand of fate?

As a Maryland personal injury attorney, I understand how the days and weeks following the death of a loved one can be a confusing and emotional time. Even under the best circumstances, such as the passing of an elderly relative by natural causes, we wonder if anything else could have been done. Certainly, as is the case of many roadway collisions, the victim’s family has even more questions; why did this happen, who is to blame, how can we cope with our loss?

In the wake of a serious and fatal car wreck or commercial truck accident, the family’s anger and upset can be blinding, especially in those instances where the loved one’s death was likely a result of certain negligent actions of another individual. A little while ago, we ran across a news item concerning the criminal aspect of a fatal trucking-related accident that happened back in 2010.

Baltimore Traffic Accident Injury News: Feds Shutter Anne Arundel Trucking Firm for Regulatory Violations

March 9, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There may be some people who still are surprised when they see or hear of individuals or corporations who regularly operate above the law, but the fact remains that even in these modern times some people and organizations feel they are not responsible to society and its rules. Sadly, not all scofflaws or fly-by-night businesses are caught by local police or the Federal agencies that are charged with regulating certain industries.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we understand the dangers that can be presented to innocent members of the public when a small business or large company skirts the law to make more profit by avoiding regulatory requirements. Being automobile injury and motorcycle accident lawyers, I and my colleagues know very well that some firms in the U.S. trucking industry cut corners to make more money.

These businesses, which are usually in violation of more than one government-mandated rule or regulation, typically do not worry about the negative effect that their actions can have on innocent motorists, pedestrians and even their own drivers. We’ve already mentioned one such company in a previous entry on this blog, but we also have heard of other commercial trucking companies that do not follow the law and who, by their actions, cause other parties losses in terms of property damage, bodily injury or death.

Maryland Commercial Trucking Accident News: Trucker Charged by State and Federal Agencies for Drunk Driving Wreck

February 29, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Drinking and driving related traffic accidents may arguably be some of the most preventable types of roadway collisions. If one subscribes to the idea of personal responsibility, or certainly to the notion that motorists should never drive after drinking or taking narcotic or hallucinogenic medications, then this is an area of personal injury law that should accept few excuses for bad behavior.

As Baltimore car, truck and motorcycle injury attorneys, my firm regularly sees individuals who have been hurt in a traffic wreck usually as a result of another driver’s negligence. Being Maryland personal injury lawyers, our job is to represent individuals seeking compensation for medical care, rehabilitation, lost income, and other expenses associated with a serious collision either in urban areas, such as Gaithersburg or Washington, D.C., or on state roads and interstate roadways.

As alluded to above, among the many and varied types of car and truck accidents, there are many people who ardently believe that drunken driving is deadly activity that need not occur, at least in a society that values traffic safety and the well-being of innocent individuals.

Baltimore Traffic Injury News: Maryland Family Injured in Multi-vehicle Trucking Accident on I-81

February 21, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It doesn’t take much to become injured in a high-speed traffic accident on the interstate, especially when a large commercial truck is involved. A family sedan, minivan or SUV is no match against a big rig 18-wheeler, tanker truck, steel hauler, and other large motor vehicle. The shear size and mass of long-haul trucks means that a highway collision can involve multiple passenger cars, with attendant injuries to numerous vehicle occupants.

As personal injury lawyers serving the residents of Maryland and Washington, D.C., I and my legal staff know how easily an accident of any kind can knock a person out of the ranks of the healthy, physically-fit arena and into a hospital room with a long road to recovery. Similarly, the physical and psychological trauma of a car accident, boating incident, motorcycle wreck, or commuter bus collision can place a burden on the victim’ and his or her family almost from the get-go.

Of course, one of the most deadly types of traffic mishap has to be that of the commercial truck wreck. Some of the most seriously and deadly automobile accidents are caused by a negligent truck driver behind the wheel of a heavy construction vehicle, semi tractor-trailer rig, or large delivery box truck.

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Fire Truck Racing toward Brooklyn Park Fire Hits Car; Injures Three

February 9, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Because of their training as emergency responders — prepared at a moment’s notice to provide help and care to anyone in trouble — it’s difficult to imagine a police officer, firefighter or paramedic intentionally causing harm to another individual. This is why it is always a shock when we read of a serious traffic accident involving a patrol car, ambulance or EMS vehicle. Yet, these kinds of accidents can and do happen all over the country. As Baltimore auto accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen the results of serious and fatal car, truck and motorcycle collisions involving police and fire vehicles. The damage that can be sustained by a relatively small passenger car when it is hit by a fire truck many times more massive can be significant. This means that depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident that the occupants of the smaller motor vehicle can receive serious to critical bodily injuries. Needless to say, while police cruisers are approximately similar in weight or mass to most average passenger cars and sport utility vehicles, serious accidents involving police cars could be the result of the higher speeds at which that these patrol cars travel. Anyone who follows the news regularly will remember some instance of a patrol car hitting another vehicle while responding to a 911 call of some sort. Continue reading ›